I am the portfolio manager for a $280 million dollar RIA. But I am also an individual investor who is growing increasingly concerned about the regulatory creep which aims to impose additional restrictions on retail investors. There has been a long history of gatekeeping investments in the US, where only the very wealthy have had access to the full range of investment options. I have been pleased to see some democratization in the space of alternative assets in recent years. However recent events such as FINRA notice #22-08, and the SEC's refusal to approve a bitcoin spot ETF have me concerned that non-accredited investors will increasingly have access to fewer investment options.
-Being rich has nothing to do with an individuals ability to understand leveraged/inverse products. And there are many responsible ways these products can be used to improve the risk/return profile of a portfolio.
-The SEC & FINRA have many legitimate responsibilities, but choosing how much risk an individual is capable of taking should not be one of them. We should all be free to make our own decisions as long as they are not at someone else's expense.
-If the regulators continue to crack down on retail investors while doing nothing to curb the improprieties of the super wealthy, it will only serve to sow more wealth inequality and division in this country.
Sam Chaplin Comment On Regulatory Notice 22-08
I am the portfolio manager for a $280 million dollar RIA. But I am also an individual investor who is growing increasingly concerned about the regulatory creep which aims to impose additional restrictions on retail investors. There has been a long history of gatekeeping investments in the US, where only the very wealthy have had access to the full range of investment options. I have been pleased to see some democratization in the space of alternative assets in recent years. However recent events such as FINRA notice #22-08, and the SEC's refusal to approve a bitcoin spot ETF have me concerned that non-accredited investors will increasingly have access to fewer investment options.
-Being rich has nothing to do with an individuals ability to understand leveraged/inverse products. And there are many responsible ways these products can be used to improve the risk/return profile of a portfolio.
-The SEC & FINRA have many legitimate responsibilities, but choosing how much risk an individual is capable of taking should not be one of them. We should all be free to make our own decisions as long as they are not at someone else's expense.
-If the regulators continue to crack down on retail investors while doing nothing to curb the improprieties of the super wealthy, it will only serve to sow more wealth inequality and division in this country.